Interaction between aggrading geomorphic surfaces and the formation of a late pleistocene paleosol in the palouse loess of eastern Washington state

Variable rates of loess deposition contributed to dramatic regional variation in a soil-stratigraphic unit, the Washtucna Soil, in the Palouse loess deposits in the Channeled Scabland of eastern Washington state. Throughout most of the Channeled Scabland, the morphology of the Washtucna Soil is that of a single buried soil, but it bifurcates into two well-developed and pedologically distinct buried soils in areas immediately downwind of the major source of loessial sediment. Regional loess stratigraphy confirms that the two well-developed soils formed during the same interval of time during which only one soil formed in areas that are distal to loess source areas. The variable and perhaps rapid rates of soil formation suggested by the stratigraphy resulted from an interaction between variable rates of loess deposition and the formation of superimposed calcic soils. Petrocalcic horizons with weak Stage IV morphology formed as the zone of carbonate accumulation moved up into former A and cambic horizons that had been profusely burrowed by cicadas. The development of cicada burrows in one phase of soil development that were subsequently engulfed by pedogenic carbonate under a rising land surface seems to have greatly accelerated the development of the petrocalcic horizons. Accelerated rates of formation of the petrocalcic horizons occurred when extrinsic (pulses of loess deposition) and intrinsic (engulfment of burrowed horizons) thresholds were exceeded. Stratigraphic evidence suggests that the soil formation that accompanied the rise in the land surface due to additional loess deposition may have occurred during the late Wisconsin glaciation when giant glacial outburst floods in the channeled Scabland triggered a new cycle of loess deposition.     

Response of eolian geomorphic systems to minor climate change: examples from the southern Californian deserts

Eolian processes and landforms are sensitive to changes in atmospheric parameters and surface conditions that affect sediment supply and mobility. The response of eolian geomorphic systems to minor climate change can be examined through process-response models based on a combination of relations between short-term changes in climatic variables and eolian activity and the geologic and geomorphic record of Holocene eolian activity.At both time scales, eolian activity in southern Californian deserts is strongly controlled by variations in precipitation. Wind energy is not a limiting factor in this region. Formation of eolian deposits is a product of climatic changes that increase sediment supply from fluvial and lacustrine sources and may, therefore, be closely tied to periods of channel cutting and geomorphic instability. During intervening periods, eolian deposits migrate away from sediment source areas and are reworked, modified, and degraded. Remobilization of existing dormant dunes is a product of reduced vegetation cover and soil moisture in periods of drier climates. The major control on these processes is decadal to annual changes in rainfall that determine vegetation cover and soil moisture content.     

福建平潭岛晚第四纪沉积序列 及MIS 5海侵旋回特征

选择位于福建平潭岛北部芦洋埔海积平原的PT01钻孔,岩芯长度28.3 m,采用加速器碳同位素（AMS 14C）和光释光（OSL）测年建立地层年代框架,认为晚更新世富含有孔虫等海相生物化石的地层应归属于MIS 5高海面期,即MIS 5e的潮下带滨海相沉积。结合岩性特征、古生物化石、沉积物色度、粒度分析及其参数等指标,进行了沉积单元的划分,重建了MIS 6末期以来的沉积相变化过程,揭示出MIS 5期间的多次海平面波动变化,即MIS 5高海面期沉积环境仍存在滨海、潮坪、潟湖、风成砂等沉积相之间的转换,并可能存在短暂的陆相或风化过程。而该区整个末次冰期的沉积缺失或较薄,上部全新世沉积也不发育,厚度仅为3.79 m,以沼泽相―风成砂相为主。     

Quaternary evolution of ephemeral playa lakes on the Southern High Plains of Texas, USA: cyclic variation in lake level recorded in sediments

Ephemeral playa lakes on the Southern High Plains northeast of Amarillo, Texas, are underlain by more than 10 m of Quaternary lake deposits. Sediments beneath 12 lakes were examined in 76 hollow-stem auger cores and in excavations. Stacked depositional cycles recognized in lake sediments record repeated phases of (1) initial highstand, (2) ephemeral lake, and (3) lake shrinkage and prolonged exposure. Sedimentary and soil structures show that during all phases the lakes were ephemeral, but that the duration and frequency of flooding varied, which caused variation in the relative amounts of accumulation, deflation, and soil formation. The highstand phase is documented by wave-cut benches and lake sediments that extend beyond present lake margins. Mud transported as suspended load was deposited from ponded water. Desiccation resulted in mudcracks and allowed deposition of eolian sand, but exposure episodes were relatively short or infrequent, and vertic soil formation, oxidation of organic material, and deflation of sand were minimal. Decreased frequency and duration of flooding resulting in increased pedogenic modification under conditions similar to those under which modern playa lake sediments accumulate. Eolian silt deposited on dry lake beds and clays deposited in flooded lakes were mixed by vertic soil processes during repeated wetting and drying. Organic material was partly oxidized and partly translocated down roots and cracks, and interbedded upland facies were gleyed. Episodes of lake shrinkage and more frequent exposure are recorded by reddening and formation of calcic horizons within lake muds. Red-brown eolian loam prograded across lake sediments, and calcic soils developed on it. These grassland slope facies record decrease in the size of the playa lakes.     

ALPINE AND SUBALPINE SOIL PROPERTIES AS PALEOENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS

This paper discusses the use of soils as indicators of environmental change in the alpine and sub-alpine zones of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Textural, miner-alogical, and chemical properties of soils developed on Quaternary glacial moraines are examined. A clear discontinuity in soil properties is observed between surface and subsurface horizons. Surface horizons are commonly finer grained and less strongly weathered than subsurface horizons. The soil-property discontinuity is interpreted to be a reflection of parent-material change. Surface horizons are interpreted to have developed in eolian sediments, while subsurface horizons have developed in glacial till. The duplex soils are believed to reflect alternating changes from cold moist climates and glacial advance to cold dry climates and loess deposition. [Key words: alpine soils, alpine weathering, alpine loess, climate change.]     

黄河上游官亭盆地喇家遗址地层光释光测年研究

通过对黄河上游官亭盆地喇家遗址周围黄河第二级阶地广泛的野外考察,在官亭镇下喇家村段发现了典型的风成黄土土壤层。在地层剖面可见其齐家文化层古地面被数组地震裂隙分割。有一层团块状的、鲜艳的红色粘土质泥流层覆盖了遗址的古地面,并且填充了地震裂隙。经过详细观测和采集光释光样品,应用单片再生剂量法(SAR) 获得该剖面样品的光释光(OSL) 年龄值。在此基础上,结合大量¹⁴C年龄数据和地层对比方法,确定官亭盆地黄河第二级阶地形成在35.00 ka BP,其后风成黄土土壤剖面开始发育。同时断定全新世古土壤S₀中间所夹红色粘土泥流沉积层及其下的地震裂隙的形成年代为3.95 ka BP。结合磁化率和粒度成分等气候替代指标分析,表明在35.00~11.50 ka BP 晚更新世晚期,亦即末次冰期的晚期(MIS-2),气候寒冷干燥,沙尘暴活动旺盛,在官亭盆地第二级阶地上堆积了典型的马兰黄土层(L_1-1)。在11.50~8.50 ka BP全新世早期,沙尘暴活动堆积了具有过渡性质的黄土层(L_t),反映气候逐渐变暖。在8.50~3.10 ka BP 全新世中期大暖期,气候变得温暖湿润,降水量增多,沙尘暴活动减弱,风化成壤作用强烈,堆积形成了黑垆土类古土壤层(S_0下、S_0上)。     

Peat layer accumulation and post‐burial deformation during the mid‐late Holocene in the Po coastal plain (Northern Italy)

Peat horizons are characteristic features of delta plains worldwide. In this study, we tested the use of peat‐based correlations to assess the deformation of Holocene strata in the Po coastal plain (Northern Italy). The Holocene stratigraphy, about 30 km inland from the modern coastline consists of a peat‐bearing, estuarine and deltaic succession, up to 23 m thick. Through the analysis of 31 core data and 100 piezocone penetration tests, we identified and mapped three 10–40 cm‐thick peat layers (T1–T3) dated to 6.6–5.8, 5.5–5.0 and 3.3–2.7 cal kyr BP respectively. These peat horizons were found to be suitable stratigraphic markers within the Holocene succession over an area of about 200 km². The mid‐late Holocene palaeogeography, reconstructed through high‐resolution peat correlation, supported by 72 radiocarbon dates, highlights a typical upper delta plain environment, with ribbon‐shaped distributary channels and swamp interdistributary areas. Peat layers are inclined towards E‐NE with gradients that increase downsection from ~0.016% (T3) to 0.021% (T1). The gradient of the oldest peat horizon is one order of magnitude larger than the slope of the modern delta plain (~0.0025%). We infer that peat horizons accumulated during periods of low sediment supply mainly controlled by autogenic processes and were deformed after deposition. Differential compaction of underlying sedimentary strata and recent tectonic activity of the buried Apenninic thrust systems are the most likely drivers of strata deformation. Based on isochore maps, we document that higher sedimentation rates in topographically depressed areas compensated, in part at least, the ongoing deformation, keeping unaltered the topographic gradient and the depositional environment. This study demonstrates that peat‐based correlation and mapping can shed lights on the mechanisms of strata accumulation and deformation in deltaic settings, constituting a robust basis for reconstructing delta evolution.     

Buried humus horizons of flooded soils of the Selenga river delta

Presented are the results derived from investigating the buried humus horizons in flooded soils of the Selenga delta. A study of the morphology, chemical properties and composition of soil humus showed that the buried horizons are the product of evolution of soil cover across the territory which serve as filtrates of substances.     

鲁北平原黄河古河道初步研究

鲁北平原黄河古河道可分为地面古河道(埋藏深度0—8m)和浅埋古河道(埋藏深度8—40m)。两类古河道部大致可分为三条古河道带,呈SW-NE向近平行展布,每带一般宽5—15km,最宽处可达20km。 古河道沉积层主要由细砂或粉砂组成,为古河床之曲流砂堤或天然堤沉积。各期古河道沉积层之顶、底板主要为粘土或亚粘土和淤泥层所构成,为古黄河泛滥相沉积物。 本区古河道按形成时间顺序可分为三期,下部第一期古河道大约形成于晚更新世晚期—全新世早期,中部第二期古河道形成于全新世早—中期,上部第三期古河道形成于全新世中—晚期。     

Aeolian influences on the soils and landforms of the southern Yilgarn Craton of semi-arid, southwestern Australia

Within a landscape developed on the deeply weathered, dominantly granitic rocks of the Yilgarn Craton in southwestern Australia, there is strong evidence of prior aeolian activity. Multiple arrays of clayey saltation deposits occur as clay dunes or lunettes extending up to 5 km to the southeast of playas, and quartzose sand dunes and sheets occur in a 2-km wide band that extends 10 km southeast of an ephemeral creek line. Parabolic dunes occur within some clayey lunettes. The parallel orientation of these diverse features and the elliptical shape of the playas suggest that the winds that have created these geomorphic entities have been from the northwest. Multiple lunette arrays with up to seven members have not been previously reported in this region.There is evidence for a more widespread, but more subtle, aeolian influence on the soils. Dust deposits appear to mantle parts of the landscape and are inferred to be coeval with the clayey saltation deposits. Although these do not occur as a discrete layer, evidence includes a plume of calcareous and illitic soils southeast of the major playa, in a landscape otherwise characterised by acidic, kaolinitic soils. Similarly, the occurrence of deep sandy soils on many slopes with a southeasterly aspect may indicate the interference of topography on the transport of saltating sands during an arid climatic phase. The presence of such aeolian deposits has implications for agricultural management, mineral exploration and the interpretation of ecological gradients in similar undisturbed landscapes.Current desertification, in the form of salinization and wind erosion, has precedence in this landscape. The aeolian deposits provide a means of interpreting landscape-scale responses to previous climate change and a key to predicting possible outcomes of both desertification and future climate change. Assuming that Bowler's theory that clay dunes require an adjacent salinized playa bed to form is correct, the arrays of clayey lunettes together with vegetated former playas indicate that the landscape has undergone multiple cycles of salinization and recovery. The lunettes may thus provide a means of predicting landscape hydrological responses to the widespread removal of natural vegetation for farming. Dating of the various sequences is required to provide a time scale for these landscape processes.     

LATE QUATERNARY GEOMORPHIC HISTORY OF LOWER HIGHLAND CREEK,WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK,SOUTH DAKOTA

Mapping of late Quaternary geomorphic surfaces, and analysis of the soils and sediments buried within them, provides evidence for the history of a small study area within the Red Valley physiographic zone, Black Hills, South Dakota. Geomorphic thresholds for this grassland system are correlated with periods of major climatic change. Well-developed soils dating to the late Pleistocene and early Holocene (14,000 to 9000 yr B.P.) suggest more mesic conditions and geomorphic stability. A mid-Holocene Altithermal (ca. 8000 to 4500 yr B.P.) denudation almost completely stripped the landscape of earlier Holocene sediments and soils. A prolonged, mid-Holocene (ca. 4500 to 3600 yr B.P.) mesic period of landscape stability and soil development followed, but was abruptly terminated around 3600 yr BP. Late Holocene conditions approached stability about 1200 yr BP. After this time, alluvial terrace surfaces remained stable, while alluvial fans experienced periods of stability punctuated by midslope aggradation.     

Comparison of radiocarbon and OSL dating methods for a Late Quaternary sediment core from Lake Ulaan,Mongolia

Both radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating methods were applied to test their suitability for establishing a chronology of arid-zone lacustrine sediments using a 5.88-m-long core drilled from Lake Ulaan, southern Mongolia. Although the radiocarbon and OSL ages agree in some samples, the radiocarbon ages are older than the corresponding OSL ages at the 550-cm depth horizon (late Pleistocene) and in the 100–300-cm interval (early to late Holocene). In the early to late Holocene, radiocarbon ages are consistently older than OSL ages by 4,100–5,800 years, and in the late Pleistocene by 2,700–3,000 years. Grain-size analysis of early to late Holocene sediments and one late Pleistocene sediment sample (550-cm depth) indicates that eolian processes were the dominant sediment-transport mechanism. Also, two late Pleistocene sediments samples (from 400- to 500-cm depths) are interpreted to have been deposited by both eolian and glaciofluvial processes. Accordingly, the radiocarbon ages that were older than the corresponding OSL ages during the Holocene seem to have been a consequence of the influx of ¹⁴C-deficient carbon delivered from adjacent soils and Paleozoic carbonate rocks by the westerly winds, a process that is also active today. In addition to the input of old reworked carbon by eolian processes, the late Pleistocene sediments were also influenced by old carbon delivered by deglacial meltwater. The results of this study suggest that when eolian sediment transport is suspected, especially in lakes of arid environments, the OSL dating method is superior to the radiocarbon dating method, as it eliminates a common ‘old-carbon’ error problem.     

The soils of Culbin forest, Morayshire: their evolution and morphology, with reference to their forestry potential

A brief account of the environmental conditions within Culbin forest is provided as a background to tracing the evolution of the area since late Glacial time. Where possible, the events are placed in historical order and the development and morphological characteristics of the soils are discussed.With the exception of the humus podsols, which are developed on an old dune system, the soils lack profile development. However, since the establishment of a tree canopy, soil horizon development has been initiated and a weakly developed iron podsol has been extensively mapped. Otherwise, the soils are classified as regosols. with some low-lying soils assigned to a gleyic subgroup. The widespread occurrence of buried peat and alluvial horizons was noted during fieldwork, and mapping units that incorporate these important horizons have been separated.Investigation into the potential of each of the mapping units for forestry reveals that where buried horizons are present significant increases in yield class can be anticipated: elsewhere nitrogen and general nutrient deficiency have seriously affected tree growth, which is only mediocre in performance. However, recent work has shown that a dramatic increase in yield class can be brought about with the application of fertilizer.     

福建海岸的风成沉积

福建沿岸多处发育现代海岸风成沉积, 采用现代风砂所总结的特征作为识别标志, 研究了3000-4000年前产生的某些生物碎屑岩和3-4万年前开始形成并广泛分布的老红砂, 证明它们皆为风成, 因此晚更新世以来这里就具有风成沉积发育的条件。海岸风成沉积大规模发育出现在高海面之时, 分布也不遵循地带性规律, 这些均与沙漠地区的风砂不同。     

Evidence for an eolian origin for the silt-enriched soil mantles on the glaciated uplands of eastern Upper Michigan, USA

We provide textural, geochemical, and mineralogical data on a thin, silty deposit that unconformably mantles glaciated uplands in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Previous research on this deposit, which we hypothesize to be loess, is nonexistent. The uplands were islands or narrow peninsulas within one or more glacial lakes. We compare the distribution, likely source and nature of the 20–60 cm thick silty mantle by using the loess formation model of Mason et al. [Mason, J.A., Nater, E.A., Zanner, C.W., Bell, J.C., 1999. A new model of topographic effects on the distribution of loess. Geomorphology 28, 223–236], which focuses on the generation of eolian silt by saltating sand across upwind, barren surfaces. Parabolic dunes, with arms open to the NW, are common on former lake floors upwind of the silt-mantled uplands, attesting to the strength and direction of paleowinds. The abrupt termination of the dunes at the footslopes of the uplands, associated with silt deposition on upland soil surfaces in downwind locations, are both consistent with the model of Mason et al. [Mason, J.A., Nater, E.A., Zanner, C.W., Bell, J.C., 1999. A new model of topographic effects on the distribution of loess. Geomorphology 28, 223−236]. Sediments on former lake floors contain abundant strata of fine/medium sand and silt, and thus are likely sources for the silt and dune sand. The cap, dune and lake sediments are similar along many different geochemical axes, whereas the substrate sediment, i.e., the drift below the cap, is unique. Cap sediments, normally containing roughly 30% silt, are enriched in quartz and depleted in Ti and Zr, relative to dune sediment. The dune sediment, a more residual eolian deposit, is enriched in Ti and Zr, relative to the cap, probably due to its greater abundance of heavy minerals. Therefore, we conclude that the silty cap is loess that was deflated from abandoned lake floors after nearby glacial lakes drained, probably contemporaneously with dune migration across the former lake floors.     

Correlations between pedological parameters in relation to lithology and soil type in Almería (SE Spain)

South-eastern Spain can be considered as a model of desertification in the Mediterranean environment. The desertification intensity varies according to two different geomorphological areas: glacis and badlands. The modal soil of the glacis area is calcic Luvisol, for which the severity of degradation depends on the degree of aridity and human activities, which give rise to the following degradation series: calcic Luvisol – luvic Calcisol – haplic, petric or aridic Calcisol. The badland area is more desertified than the glacis area. The modal soils in the badland area depend exclusively on the parent material: aridic Arenosols on sand; eutric, calcaric or gypsiric Regosols on silt and calcilutite; aric Gypsisols on gypsum; and aric Solonchaks on parent material rich in halite. Luvisols, Gypsisols and Solonchaks can be considered relict paleosols that developed in a wetter climate than the prevailing arid conditions that make clay illuviation or the formation of gypsic or salic horizons impossible. Soil quality reduction is shown by creating a database for soils’ physical and chemical properties, ranging in classes that facilitate the use of these properties as an effective tool for decision making with regard to desertification.     

Integrating soils and geomorphology in mountains—an example from the Front Range of Colorado

Soil distribution in high mountains reflects the impact of several soil-forming factors. Soil geomorphologists use key pedological properties to estimate ages of Quaternary deposits of various depositional environments, estimate long-term stability and instability of landscapes, and make inferences on past climatic change. Once the influence of the soil-forming factors is known, soils can be used to help interpret some aspects of landscape evolution that otherwise might go undetected.The Front Range of Colorado rises from the plains of the Colorado Piedmont at about 1700 m past a widespread, dissected Tertiary erosion surface between 2300 and 2800 m up to an alpine Continental Divide at 3600 to over 4000 m. Pleistocene valley glaciers reached the western edge of the erosion surface. Parent rocks are broadly uniform (granitic and gneissic). Climate varies from 46 cm mean annual precipitation (MAP) and 11 °C mean annual temperature (MAT) in the plains to 102 cm and −4 °C, respectively, near the range crest. Vegetation follows climate with grassland in the plains, forest in the mountains, and tundra above 3450 m. Soils reflect the bioclimatic transect from plains to divide: A/Bw or Bt/Bk or K (grassland) to A/E/Bw or Bt/C (forest) to A/Bw/C (tundra). Corresponding soil pH values decrease from 8 to less than 5 with increasing elevation. The pedogenic clay minerals dominant in each major vegetation zone are: smectite (grassland), vermiculite (forest), and 1.0–1.8 nm mixed-layer clays (tundra). Within the lower forested zone, the topographic factor (aspect) results in more leached, colder soils, with relatively thin O horizons, well-expressed E horizons and Bt horizons (Alfisols) on N-facing slopes, whereas soils with thicker A horizons, less developed or no E horizons, and Bw or Bt horizons (Mollisols) are more common on S-facing slopes. The topographic factor in the tundra results in soil patterns as a consequence of wind-redistributed snow and the amount of time it lingers on the landscape. An important parent material factor is airborne dust, which results in fine-grained surface horizons and, if infiltrated, contributes to clay accumulation in some Bt horizons. The time factor is evaluated by soil chronosequence studies of Quaternary deposits in tundra, upper forest, and plains grassland. Few soils in the study area are >10,000 years old in the tundra, >100,000 years old in the forest, and >2 million years old in the grassland. Stages of granite weathering vary with distance from the Continental Divide and the best developed is grus near the sedimentary/granitic rock contact just west of the mountain front. Grus takes a minimum of 100,000 years to form.Some of the relations indicated by the soil map patterns are: (1) parts of the erosion surface have been stable for 100,000 years or more; (2) development of grus near the mountain front could be due in part to pre-Pennsylvanian weathering; (3) a few soil properties reflect Quaternary paleoclimate; and (4) a correlation between soil development in the canyons and stream incision rates.     

无定河流域不同地貌区水沙过程对比

为了查明人为影响程度较低时期无定河流域内不同地貌区的水沙过程及其变化规律,选取1970年以前一段时期该流域内风沙区和黄土丘陵沟壑区河流的有关水文站的水文泥沙实测数据进行对比分析。结果表明,风沙区河流的流量变率较黄土丘陵沟壑区的小;风沙区河流的含沙量远小于黄土丘陵沟壑区河流的含沙量。黄土丘陵沟壑区河流具有极高的输沙率,而风沙区河流的输沙率微不足道。风沙区和黄土丘陵沟壑区河流的产流模数基本相近,但产沙模数非常悬殊,前者的产沙模数很小,为118.58~725.38t /km² · a,而后者的达到1879.36~25112.15t /km² · a。显然,无定河流域黄土丘陵沟壑区的河流是侵蚀产沙的主要来源区,因而是水土保持工作的重点区域。     

黄土中古土壤淀积类型

作者在西安附近发现了第１、４层古土壤的双层淀积和第５、８层古土壤多层淀积现象。资料表明，双层淀积、多层淀积和厚度异常大的ＣａＣＯ３淀积层是土壤具多元发生过程或受后期淋溶的产物，它们常代表两个或两个以上的成壤期。第１层古土壤下部的两层结构均不属古土壤组合部分，该层土壤为中、酸性森林土壤。第８层古土壤特殊的厚层淀积代表了气候的多次变化和多个成壤期。第４、５层古土壤具不连续ＣａＣＯ３和Ｆｅ２Ｏ３、Ａｌ２     

Geomorphological Holocene events as deduced from lithological records of the fluvial basins of Dauria

A conjugate analysis of the processes of morphogenesis and sedimentation within small fluvial basins of Dauria revealed a rhythmic character of change of the Holocene processes which are combined into cycles of a different hierarchical level. It is shown that each cycle begins with an extreme phase of intense fluvial drift and delivery of matter from the system. The fluvial horizons comprise the lower part of deposits of the Holocene macrocycle in the Vesnyanka pad’ (a valley without a permanent watercourse). A disastrous fluvial drift was recorded repeatedly for the period 7–8.5 cal. ka and at the transition time from the Atlantic to Subboreal time. A normal zonal phase of integration of matter within the basins is exhibited by buried humus horizons of soils which give clear evidence of 1800-year cycles. A regional development in Dauria is recorded for the soils with the age of about 8, 6.4 and 4.6 as well as 1.2–1.4 cal. ka. The upper part of the deposits of each cycle is characterized by aeolian horizons of extreme arid phases. The profiles of proluvial trails are indicative of 130-year cycles. Based on results from studying buried soils, data of pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating of the deposits, we determined an enhancement in climate aridization for the last 10 ka and, in general, a decreased of the sedimentation and morphogenesis rate.